Trade Axe Unearthed

David Wesner

David Wesner

Joined
Jan 5, 2005
Messages
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Thought you guys would be interested in seeing another trade axe that was unearthed on Friday (8/4/06). A buddy of mine has been lucky enough to have found six of these so far and now has me hunting with a metal detector for artifacts (when I'm not in the shop). He found this one just below a very large rock, it was only about 3" underground, which leads him to believe that it had been sitting on the rock for many moons and finally was somehow knocked off and covered over time. Typically most of the trade axes around here are found from about 6" to 12" below ground. I have went to the site "Trade Goods in New-France" to try and identify this but have been unsuccessful. It's much smaller than most trade axes and I think it might be in the Tomahawk classification, but I'm not sure. There are no armourer marks that are visible. I've cleaned it up with Dawn dish soap and a bronze brush, but still can't find any marks. Thought you guys would like it after seeing Ray Richards beautiful axe that he just finished. Sorry for the poor pics, if anyone would like any detailed images for the purpose of recreating something like this, I'd be more than happy to e-mail the specs and pics.



 
Higgy I'll tell you,this artifact hunting is addictive !! You would not believe all of the Copper Culture poundings,preforms,& artifacts around here.Lots of old iron too,as you can see.I can be in the deepest darkest spot in the woods,thinking I have got to be the first human being to have been here,WRONG !! As soon as you turn the detector on reality hits,there is also TONS of crap around too. 150 + yrs of logging & homesteading I suppose , and the natives . Yes , it is very cool !
 
Nice find. A lot of the trade hawks were small like this. Its in amazing shape to have been buried.

Were there any pieces of the handle in the eye?
 
Hey Mike :) The last one my buddy found was small like this , all others were quite a bit larger.None have had any handle left in them when found.I have seen 4 of the last Trade Axe's he found and they were in as good or better shape than this one in the pics.This one differs in that the top of the Blade angles slightly upwards where as most other French Type Trade Axes have Blades that are straight or curve slightly downward. This could just be a variance in the smith forging the tool too.Take this with a grain of salt , I'm really new at this ID of Trade Axes ;)
 
Some people are just lucky....you are one of them, congratulations on a great find.
 
Thanks for the tip on the book Mike.Looks like I'll have to check the library for that one. Amazon no longer has it in print.As to the stone point in a deer rib ??? Now that is a find !! How is that possible ??? Is he an archaeologist or just really,really lucky ? A neighbor who is into primitive archery :confused: :D Are you serious or are you just messin wit me :o I want to hear details :) Kricket , a buddy of mine found the hawk pictured.You ever hear that song......If it weren't fer Bad Luck ????????????? :D
 
LOL ! You know Ray , that is one of many things that goes through my mind in regards to an artifact.Who's was it ? How did he/she loose it ? How much trouble did it cause them after having lost it :) , cause I bet a tool like that was worth its weight in gold . I find myself trying to recreate a camp , a trail , or an old copper culture forge in my mind while I'm out hunting. BTW , thanks for that link . I have spent quite a bit of time on that one.Lots of info !! I was wondering if you use a similar technique for your Trade Axe forging as is described there under the link "Manufacturing of a Trade Axe" . Just curious , your work always seems so authentic looking , so perfect for the time period .
 
David Wesner said:
LOL ! You know Ray , that is one of many things that goes through my mind in regards to an artifact.Who's was it ? How did he/she loose it ? How much trouble did it cause them after having lost it :) , cause I bet a tool like that was worth its weight in gold . I find myself trying to recreate a camp , a trail , or an old copper culture forge in my mind while I'm out hunting. BTW , thanks for that link . I have spent quite a bit of time on that one.Lots of info !! I was wondering if you use a similar technique for your Trade Axe forging as is described there under the link "Manufacturing of a Trade Axe" . Just curious , your work always seems so authentic looking , so perfect for the time period .
Click to expand...

David, No I haven't but I have sure given it some thought. Thats a big ass trade ax being made thats forsure. I've made very few folded axes or hawks. Most of what I make are out of solid bars.
 
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